


Unwanted Attachments

by DesolateHappiness



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Recreational Drug Use, Sherlock Holmes and Drug Use, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-07 18:20:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4273278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesolateHappiness/pseuds/DesolateHappiness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Athena Lasko is an 19 year old prodigy. After quitting her job as a biochemical engineer for Interpol she hopes to stay at home after the death of her mother. Until Mycroft Holmes shows up that is. By helping the great Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, this trio comes face to face with evil, love, and death.</p><p>Athena bit her lip as she looked through the stained glass window, the warm breeze caressing against her skin. "I thought we were the same Sherlock, I thought you would care for someone besides yourself. But I was horribly wrong." Tears started to blur  Athena's vision as she took a shaky breath, "I tried to love you, but I have come to loathe you Sherlock Holmes."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Threat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Minor detail changes, mostly more descriptive writing.

Athena groaned as she sat up in the quiet flat, books were stacked everywhere in neat piles, experiments were everywhere in the kitchen and counters, she needed a larger flat to accommodate everything. She braided her unruly light brown hair into a braid and grabbed her coat before heading out into the cold London air. Athena had worked as a bioengineer for the government, until recently that is, she quit. Too many stupid and moronic people plagued her department and it affected how she would work. Currently she worked on occasion at an apothecary store since she had enough money from her inheritance to last her a few life times. As she walked down the street a black car stopped next to her and rolled the window down.

"Ms. Lasko." Athena slowly turned to where the man was speaking, "Please get into the car, it's a bit chilly outside." Athena hesitated as she entered the car and looked to the man who was talking to her before. "Family or work problems?" Athena asked looking at the wrinkles forming around his eyes. The man smiled and opened a file, "Athena Lasko, age 19, you majored in Organic Chemistry, English Literature, Environmental Science, and have minors in General Medicine, Psychology, and Botany. A former bioengineer for the government and biochemical engineer for Interpol located at the London office, but you suddenly quit because of and I quote"too many ignorant pricks". Now tell me Athena, why would a brilliant young lady such as yourself suddenly quit after being the youngest and most successful woman of our time stop, just to stay at home." Athena crossed her ankles over and settled back in the leather bench.

"Shut the file and look at me Mr. Holmes, what do you see?" Athena's green eyes stared at his watery grey eyes, Mycroft shifted in his seat after looking at her for awhile. "I see one of the potentially greatest chemist and minds of this time, you have a cat, your skin color further proves your home country of Greece although you are quite pale; I assume you do not care for styling your hair since you would rather have it out of the way, laziness perhaps. You moved here when you were young maybe around the age of eight or nine since you have picked up a Londoner's accent but you don't speak like a Londoner. Your mother died and left you a great sum of money, you don't have siblings that I can tell of and you have an allergy to bees." Athena laughed softly, "Now Mr. Holmes, tell me things that are not in plain sight, my character, my personality. But you can't because you lack the skill to. Now tell me why the Queen has sent her little guard dog to talk to me" Mycroft sighed and opened the file. "There have been a recent string of murders in London, autopsy reports show no sign of struggle, and in their muscle tissue are traces of toxins. Presumably they were drugged but I would like for you to investigate this case. Then there were the bodies. They were left in pieces, severed by someone with an abundance of surgical skill." He handed her the file and let her read it.

"I will have access to the other documents and reports, a lab and equipment will be sufficient. I'd also like to know why your brother is working on this case Mr. Holmes." Athena said looking up to him, "You are stressed about your brother working on this case because he isn't getting the advancement in this case like you hoped and you are coming to me." Mycroft smiled as the car came to a stop.

"Well you can go and see for yourself, I just hope he isn't a bother to you Ms. Lasko." Athena smiled and handed him her card, "You aren't terribly annoying, we should have lunch or tea sometime. Good luck with the weight loss, I find vegan diets and jogging twice a day to be a good way to lose it." She stepped out onto the street and walked up to the door labeled 221b and hit the knocker, pulling her coat closed as she waited for the door to open.

An elderly looking woman opened the door and smiled looking at Athena "Are you John's new girlfriend? I'm Mrs. Hudson , their landlady. You are a pretty one and you seem quite nice, come on in deary the boys are just upstairs"Athena walked in and took off her coat, "I'm not Johns companion, I am here to see Mr. Holmes about a case." Athena walked up the stairs with Ms. Hudson and followed her into the flat, the living room was cluttered with books, papers, experiments. It reminded her of her own flat, except their flat was twice as small. "John! There's a young lady here to see you! I'll be downstairs, just holler if you need anything love." Athena nodded to her as a man with blondish grey hair came into the room. The way he stood was almost at a salute, certainly military, more than likely a doctor in the army since to be honest he didn't look like he could handle a weapon besides a pistol or small handgun. 

He walked over to Athena and put his hand out to shake hers "Oh, well hello, I'm John Watson, D-" Athena interrupted him "I am aware Dr. Watson, which war were you in? Sorry I interrupted." Dr. Watson's eye grew larger as he stared at her.  
"You are just bloody like him, Sherlock is in his room I'll go get him. Would you like any tea? I just took the kettle off." His heart rate has increased. Nervousness? Yes. Athena laid her coat on the couch and sat on the couch reviewing the case file. The first victim was found in the park, the blood was mostly drained, and the body was cut into ten pieces. The second and third victims were found the same way at different locations across London, all were prostitutes, clever no one would think of them as missing since they would be on the street or in the sheets. Athena laughed to herself at her comment.  
John set the tray with tea and biscuits on the coffee table and sat next to her, "So... Can I ask why you are here Ms umm, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."  
"Athena Lasko. I was asked to consult on a case with Mr. Holmes."  
"Mycroft brought you didn't he? His cologne is strong and annoying." A tall man with curly hair and blue eyes came from the bedroom and sat across from Athena. "Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft did bring me. A consulting hematologist and on this case apparently." Athena sat forward in the couch and stared at Sherlock. "Aren't they dull, normal humans Mr. Holmes? Must be excruciatingly boring for you with this one here." Sherlock grinned staring at her. Sitting in front of Sherlock Holmes was the only woman who could possibly intimidate Mycroft in a twenty minute car ride. 

"Go ahead Mr. Holmes, deduce me. I already have you all figured out." Sherlock squinted looking at her. "Early twenties, foreigner from Greece because of your surname but your hair says otherwise. Father more then likely from Poland because of your light brown hair, right handed, raised in a proper household from the way you sit and your posture. Only child, you recently quit your job as a chemist? No. Bioengineer. You have a pet cat to keep you company since you like to work alone, but why settle as a bioengineer when you could do so much better? You have funds, more then likely from inheritance. Your father passed away and left you that large sum of money. You are cold and distant from other people, but you use your gender as a way to manipulate people. Now you work in some sort of home goods store, but with your background of bioengineering more then likely a place where you can still use those skills, an apothecary type store then. Now your mother is still in Greece, sick perhaps? Staying at home with friends and family until she dies. You stay close to your Greek heritage because of your complexion, to be honest you eat like a Greek. " Sherlock smiled sitting back in the chair, folding one leg over the other.

"Correct Mr. Holmes, but it wasn't my father who passed. My mother passed two months ago from an infection in the blood and left me the money and not the dead beat father living with his new family in Greece." Athena took another sip from her tea. "It was the mother of course, I always get something wrong." he mumbled to himself  
"I'm sorry to hear about your mother Athena" John said putting his hand on her arm, only for Athena to take it off. "Don't be sorry, sympathy will get you no where in life." Athena retorted and stood to look at the books that were cluttering the room until she saw a violin sitting next to a stand. "That violin, you play don't you Mr. Holmes? Obviously the slight tremor in Johns left hand would prevent him from playing." Sherlock agreed and stood up to answer the phone.  
"Sherlock. Yes. Another one? On our way." Sherlock slid his coat and scarf on as he headed to the door. "Athena are you coming?" Sherlock said running down the stairs.  
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Athena smiled and slipped on her jacket.

 

The three stepped out of the cab and towards the crime scene, the victim had once again been severed at the ankles, the knee, the hip was severed by itself leaving the thighs also severed, and the arms were severed. An average height man with salt and pepper hair confronted Athena.

"Who is this Sherlock?" the man said looking at Athena. "Athena Lasko, consulting hematologist. My credentials." Athena showed him a slip of paper that contained the coat of arms seal and was signed by Mycroft. "I'm Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade, thank you for consulting with us Ms. Lasko." Sherlock and John examined the body as Athena took tissue, hair, and skin samples and put them into different vials and stuffed them into her jacket pocket. Under the ankle laid a photograph, it looked familiar to Athena for some reason, the picture was of the chess table from the park. Think Athena, think she thought to herself. 

Memories came rushing infront of her eyes, ones with her father and mother, just her mother, then by herself. That's what it was! When she was attending middle school her mother played a game of chess with her every day. But why was this photograph here, did the killer know she would see it? A coincidence maybe? "Mr. Holmes were there photographs like this at every crime scene? I don't recall reading about it in the case files." Athena said crouching by Sherlock. "Yes but I haven't been able to make an accurate reason as to why they are left at the scenes." Sherlock put the magnifying glass back into his coat and stood up. "Shall we head back then? I want to look at those photographs left at the other scenes if you wouldn't mind." Sherlock nodded and the three headed back to Baker street. 

Athena looked at the three photographs and hid the fear that was growing inside of her. One photograph was taken across the street from the house she and her mother lived in for 11 years, the second was of her favorite market where she would often go to get groceries, and the third was of a snippet of ashen brown hair that looked just like her mothers. Whoever it was, was trying to contact or target her. None of the morons from her past work could have known about any of this, nor could they even butcher someone like this.

"Well, I am heading out to pick up dinner. Want to accompany me Athena?" John said putting his coat on, "I'm fine I had breakfast, plus being hungry makes me think harder. Perhaps some other time Dr. Watson." Athena said looking through the microscope at the tissue samples. "Mr. Holmes, these tissue samples, they all have been through cell crystallization. These bodies must have been kept in a cold storage, any luck on the blood work?" Sherlock merely shook his head and focused on his microscope slide. Athena yawned and rubbed her eyes, "Mr. Holmes I am going back to my flat for the night. I have some other documents that may help there, if I find anything I'll ring you." Athena put her jacket back on and slipped the photographs into her pocket and headed back to the main road where she hailed a cab and got in.

"618 Carolina street please." Athena sat back into the seat and rubbed her temples. "It's so nice to finally meet you Athena, I've been waiting so long for this." The cabbie said, Athena looked up at the mirror to see a man with brown eyes with a slightly receding hair line.

"No need to worry my dear, I just wanted to inform you that I have sparked an interest into you. Did you like my little gift? All those bodies and those pretty photos." He smiled menacingly, "Too scared to speak now? It's fine really." Athena kept looking at the man and couldn't see what he was, she couldn't deduct a single thing about him. Was it fear stopping her? She looked at the floor of the cab until it stopped in front of her flat.

"Don't worry love, it's a free ride. But I will do you a favor, I won't send out anymore presents if you accept my offer. You will rely information about Sherlock Holmes to me and I in turn will give you a sum of money. But I know your dead mummy left you lots of money, so instead I will give you protection." He turned around to face Athena, his cold brown eyes staring into her green ones.

"I don't know what you are to Mr. Holmes, but you are a threat. One that needs to be taken out, and how low of you to corner me in a taxi? I will not be a spy for you." Athena got out of the taxi and walked to her door until he called out again. "Don't you want to know who I am? Going in without knowing will just eat you up Athena, come here Athena." He smiled looking at her, she saw other people across the street and walked forward. she stood at the door and followed his gesture to lean in. "The names Jim Moriarty." he whispered grinning and kissed her cheek softly. Athena instinctively struck him, "Moriarty, I will see it that you have an unbearable and painful death. I'd watch your water source to make sure arsenic isn't leaked in by mistake." Athena spat looking at Moriarty as he rubbed his cheek from where she slapped him, Athena turned around and made her way to the door only to have Moriarty pin her against the door, squeezing his hands around her throat. "Don't make empty threats Athena, I sure as hell don't. You speak of this to ANYONE I will make sure they are severed and laying in your bedroom and their blood will be on your hands." Athena scratched at his sleeves trying to gasp for air as he squeezed at her throat harder and harder.  
"Goodnight Athena, I'll see you soon."Moriarty slammed her against the door and left, Athena blinked trying to get her vision to focus again.


	2. Frustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Athena is interrupted by Sherlock and only her luck would ensue what comes next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I just made a very minor detail changes, mostly adding descriptions.

A few days had past, Athena leaned against her kitchen counter, a cup of strong chamomile tea in one hand and the other was a spray bottle containing a very potent brewed serum of Larkspur Delphinium and ground oleander seeds. One spray of the solution could cause dizziness, slowed heartbeat, pupil dilation, paralysis of the respiratory system, and muscle weakness. If that vile Moriarty showed up on her porch, he would surely be a dead man. Athena continued to stare at the four photographs hanging from her ceiling, how could possibly have known about these things? Maybe the market was obvious since she would visit it often to buy food or supplies, but the snippet of hair and the picture from her childhood home gave her chills. The only remote way he could have known about them is if he looked through her, oh. Clever man, very clever. Mother left a photo album to Athena after she passed, she quickly looked through her bookshelves to find the leather bound picture book.  


Athena opened the book to see the first page decorated with certain photos, obviously misplaced due to the differences in Polaroid squares and the developed pictures from her Mother's camera; the first had been of her first game of chess she won against her Mother,the second of the market where a young Athena stood smiling, the third was of her mother sitting in their living room, and the fourth was when they first moved to London and Athena stood in front of their new house. Shivers went down her spine and throughout her body as she sat on the couch and continued to look through the various pictures of her younger self. Any of the dozens upon dozens of photographs could be the next potential drop off location for the next body. The buzzer sounded out through the flat, indicating someone was at the front door, Athena grabbed the spray bottle and sprayed it onto a cloth and slowly approached the door.  


"Who is it?" Athena bit her lip to calm herself as she put her free hand on the door knob, "It's John, can I umm come in?" she sighed in relief and opened the door, holding the cloth behind her body. "Quite a surprise John, what do you need?" Athena walked back into the her living room and put the Larkspur serum on the window sill.  


"Sherlock wants you to run tests on a paint sample we got from a case we are working on." John handed her an envelope and sat on the arm chair. Athena got a kit from the kitchen and slipped on latex gloves, carefully examining the paint chip inside the vial. "Isn't this something that Sherlock could do? He's got a microscope he could put to use." Athena said as she retrieved a magnifying glass from a desk in the living room, " Nonetheless, it's certainly a spray paint because of the brick substance left on the back, and judging by the density of it and the way the paint has run down, I would have to say it was a high pressured canister. Wagner or Michigan perhaps, its a common one for graffiti artists, cheap and fairly vibrant. I'll run some tests and give you a ring when I have definitive answers." Athena carefully slid the paint into a test tube rack and began jotting down her findings. John laughed looking at her, "how could you possibly have known that?" Athena smirked as she looked at the paint. "I do understand that you have probably held me up to a certain standard by now, but I did have a rebellious phase a few years back and Michigan was my weapon of choice. Oh, and John?" Athena stood up going to her bedroom, John got up and followed her to the dark room.  


"In this envelope is about ninety pounds, I know you are struggling with finances. Military pension in London can really only get you so far, especially with the flat in prime London real estate and the fares from the cabs Sherlock has you paying." Athena slid it into John's coat after much protest. "Promise me one thing, do not call me tonight to help with any case. My friend has invited me to dinner, and I would enjoy it if Sherlock didn't interrupt before dessert." John looked at Athena in pure shock.  
"Going on a date are we Athena?" John said chuckling to himself. "It's Ms. Lasko if you didn't mind Dr. Watson. I'm sure you can show yourself out of my flat." Athena stared at John with cold eyes as he turned around and left the flat after apologizing.

***

"But that's just it Mycroft," Athena sighed sitting back with a glass of wine to her lips, "I have tested for all toxic metals and predator drugs, legal and illegal; the lung tissue came back negative for trichloromethane, the muscle tissue didn't contain chloramine, and it doesn't contain any natural elements that can cause fainting or paralysis that I am familiar with." The two sat in a private room in the back of the restaurant, according to Mycroft the owner owed him a favor and thus the free dinner.  


"Perhaps he is playing a game with you Athena, he knows that you are a bright young woman. He is trying to see just how intelligent you are. But I am afraid you may be over thinking this whole case." Mycroft said taking a small sip from his glass of red wine, "Just think Athena, what is an injectable liquid that could readily be found in a store that would not cause suspicion." Athena stared down at the lace hem of the black Givenchy dress, Moriarty would not and could not be this simple , he would want for her to drive herself insane, absolutely mad trying to find out what was truly hidden in the muscle tissue. "If it was that simple, then why would he be playing these mind games with me Mycroft." She stabbed another olive with her fork and watched the juice come out from it.  


"Now now Athena, stop being daft and think. Obviously this would have a paralyzing affect on the persons body, what sort of thing does that?" Athena stared into her fabric covered thigh. Think Athena think! Memories flooded her sight, when she was in Greece her mother and father owned an olive orchard and, often enough, stray dogs would come onto the land and eat what they could reach from low hanging branches or poor beggars would wander onto the orchard and steal the olives. Her father would hire men to protect his land and if there were men that came onto the land they would be hit with a tranquilizer dart, then transported off the land.  


Athena looked up to a smiling Mycroft, "He's been using a sort of animal tranquilizer, it would be a small enough dosage for a quick hit, and no one would be suspicious because of deer hunting down south. Plus it's virtually undetectable in toxicology reports. " Athena began to smile at her discovery. " Mycroft, could you get me samples of animal tranquilizers that are sold in England?" Athena asked absolutely beaming.  


"I could get them to you by tomorrow morning by the latest, I have a few friends who could help." Athena laughed softly and thanked Mycroft for his help.  
"Now Athena, tell me what has you so worried, you certainly aren't becoming upset because of the case." Mycroft said folding his napkin and setting it on the table. Athena could tell him, he is rather high up in the British government, Moriarty couldn't possibly lay a hand on him if he tried. After taking a deep breath Athena began to speak.  


"Mycroft, the other night after I left Sherlock's fl-" Athena was suddenly cut off by her phone vibrating, she quickly apologized and checked the new message she received.

Emergency at 221, come at once.  
-SH

Athena sighed, "Mycroft I am so terribly sorry. May I be excused? Apparently there's a pressing matter at the hands of your brother. I will make up for this next week, thank you so much for dinner." grabbing her clutch she began to walk out of the private seating and out to the lobby, the sound of her clinking against the marble floor. The host brought her cream colored coat and hailed a taxi for her.  


"221B Baker street please." Athena sat back in the taxi and sighed yet again at the thought of her having to leave before dessert. The ride was quiet except for the humming coming from the driver, she relaxed and replied to Sherlock

Someone must be dead to make me leave before dessert.  
-Lasko

Athena walked into the flat, furious at the two men that lived in it. "For God's sake, I asked for one evening off this case to have dinner, and I gave you sir-" Athena said pointing to John, "very specific directions for this not to happen." Sherlock and John both looked at the now livid Athena.  
"Who are you trying to impress Athena?" Sherlock said unpacking and cross referencing books from a cardboard box. "I had no intention of impressing anyone Mr. Holmes, I had dinner with a friend of mine." Athena took off her coat and hung it on the hook.  


"Oh yes, that's right then you must have been just been working in Northern Thames prior to the dinner, I would've mistaken you for a woman of the night." Both John and Athena looked towards Sherlock in utter shock, "Sherlock apologize to Ms. Lasko, you had no right to say that to her." Sherlock looked at John and back at Athena. "The tightness of the skirt portion is meant to draw the males attention to your legs, specifically your thigh. The low neckline is meant to accentuate a woman's breast, or the lack thereof in your case, you are wearing your mother's jewelry showing you still want to hold a connection to her. You are wearing a quite expensive imported perfume, one that is in your clutch." He stepped forward and opened her clutch to retrieve the perfume vial. "If I am not mistaken it was made in Germany, one spray a-" Athena quickly pulled back Sherlock by the collar when he sprayed Larkspur serum, "DON'T BREATHE" hurrying to snake her hand over Sherlock's she covered her own mouth and nose, Athena kept the position with Sherlock until the serum dissipated.

"What in the hell is in that perfume vial Athena?!" John roared with his shirt covering his nose and mouth. "Larkspur and Oleander seed serum, one spray can be fatal if inhaled. I keep it for personal protection, after all the streets of Northern Thames can be very troubling at times for a street worker." Athena quickly stood up and placed the vial back into her clutch, "If you are done being childish Mr. Holmes, I would appreciate it if you told me why you needed me here."  


"The numbering system we have decoded is in reference to a book code, so the numbers are references to books." Sherlock said unpacking books again. "Yes I am aware of what a book code is, I'm not daft. They correlate to specific pages and specific words on the pages. Plus it would have to be the same volume, same version of the book or else they will not match up." Athena sat opposite of John sighing, picking up pairs of books and writing the correlating words onto a notebook. Book after book, page after page, Athena and John rummaged through the pages, some books wouldn't make any sense, but other would give them a false hope until a silly word would appear and make no sense in the sentence. Both their eyes had become heavy from sleep as it became early morning.

"Ms. Lasko? Wake up, it's John", Athena opened her eyes to see John standing next to her. Her hair was a bit disheveled and her stomach pained from hunger. She sat back in the chair and yawned as John and Sherlock argued. "Cinema? Dull, boring, predictable. Try this, in London for one night only." Sherlock handed John a slip of paper and John laughed.  


"I don't think he should be particularly taking dating advice from you Mr. Holmes. It's not quite your expertise, now is it? Although it would be nice to go to see it." Athena stood and collected the books from around her. "Good, because you are also coming Ms. Lasko." Sherlock smiled and walked back to the kitchen retrieving a bag and handing it to her. "I wouldn't have guessed Mycroft would fancy you, but after all I would assume he would be quite desperate. He left this here around lunchtime and said you left it in his car last night. Sorry to have stopped what fun you would have had las-" Sherlock was cut off by a burning sensation on his right cheek, her eyes were filled with anger as she stared at him. 

"Mr. Holmes, I am not that sort of lowly woman, Mycroft is a colleague to me and has been helping me with MY case, which you failed to advance on so he assigned it to me because I can produce results. He at least acknowledges my intelligence and does not insult me because of my age or implies the monstrosities that you do. I will be going home tonight to work on my actual case I have been assigned, not one you can't figure out yet again. Excuse me." Athena slipped her coat, grabbed her clutch and bag, then proceeded to head down the stairs and outside, only to bump into Mrs. Hudson.  


"Having a bit of a domestic are we now? The first few are always a bit harder than the rest darling." She smiled and squeezed Athena's shoulder as she walked through the door.  
Athena's heels clicked down the pavement as she took in deep breaths to calm herself, Sherlock was irritating and knew how to crawl under her skin, her fingers snuck into her bag to pull out a carton of Native American Spirits and her lighter. The sound of the flint and striker was like sweet music to her ear until she inhaled deeply as the hot, yet soothing smoke filled and warmed her lungs and throat, she closed her eyes as she exhaled upwards. "Sherlock and I having a domestic? The first are always hard? That woman is a complete and absolute loon." Athena mumbled as she placed the lighter into her bag along with the carton. Drag after drag, Athena kept walking until she stopped to stomp the fag-end out when she saw something move from the corner of her eye. More than likely a stray, the strays were always terrible in this section of town, or perhaps a homeless. Which still could be considered a stray in ways.  


"Excuse me Miss, I think you dropped your carton." A gentle tap to the her shoulder startled Athena as she turned to see a young Chinese man hold up the carton. Athena flashed a quick smile as she picked up the carton from his hand and turned to continue walking home: only to feel a hand cover her mouth and an arm around her waist, pulling her into the alleyway. A rough and thick Chinese accent whispered to Athena,  


"Not even a thank you? How rude." Athena tried biting through the leather gloved hand and slammed her elbow into the attacker's sides repeatedly, if she could get out of their hold she could run back through Baker Street, one final blow to the jugular caused the man to begin choking. Her eyes grew large as a needle was stuck into her neck, her vision began to blur and become out of focus, causing her to fight harder. Her legs kicked at the man's knees, her arms flailing as a muffled scream left her lips. She could hear a car door open behind her and voices yelling in a foreign language as the darkness consumed her.


	3. Deal

After the adrenaline rush at the Chinese circus Sherlock, John, and Sarah stopped at Athena's flat, mostly at the request of John since Athena had stormed out of their flat earlier that day. Sarah stayed in the taxi as the two men approached the door, "She isn't here, the door has been broken into. There are scratches from a small metal tool, more than likely a lock picking kit." Sherlock brought out a small magnifying lens to enlarge the scratches then proceeded inside Pallas, Athena's cat, hissed as the two strange men entered.

The flat was much more modern than most found in London: the white walls were adorned with various types of hanging plants and paintings, the dark cherry wood floor covered with piles of books and papers with sticky notes describing what they were, the furniture was modest and feminine with throws and countless pillows on the sofas. The kitchen was small compared to the rest of the flat, a wooden counter ran along the walls with racks of glass bottles with different colored serums and bitters and the empty space was covered in plants or a tea set. Her bedroom was different from the rest of the house, a black chandelier with dozens of shimmering crystals hung in the middle, a small glass coffee table with black and white laced arm chairs facing the balcony, an ornate black fireplace with small framed portraits of Athena and her mother, the bed was covered in a black lace duvet with a dozen or so black and white lace pillows covering it. It was a room that any little girl would dream of having. It was Athena's sanctuary after all.

John looked through the coat room, "Athena's purse and coat are missing, she could've gone out to grab a bite or for a pint at the pub." Sherlock sighed as he walked into the kitchen and swung open the doors of the cabinets to reveal several bottles of vintage wine and an assortment of glasses. "We are speaking about Athena Lasko, she holds herself up to a higher standard, so she wouldn't be caught in a neighborhood pub drinking beer, she drinks wine and more specifically red. Her mother probably introduced her when she was in her teens to drinking wine with dinner." He promptly shut the doors and ventured into her bedroom. "She is a fairly attractive young woman with money Sherlock, she could've gone out for a night to dance. You were an arse to her today, I wouldn't blame her." John looked through a stack of grief cards addressed to her about her mother's passing. "John why must you be so daft." He opened the armoire to show knee length dresses, pant suits, and a few blouses, "She doesn't own anything that revealing, with exception of the dress she wore. Although she had just bought it recently since it was still stiff from the store." 

John started looking at the plants and herbs. "She has to be missing, it's quite late and she has an animal. The cats food bowl is dry and so is the water, her clothing isn't in the laundry from last night. Her plants need to be watered, they are also dry. She hasn't come home, something has happened. Call Athena several times later tonight, if she fails to answer then call Lestrade and tell him that Ms. Lasko has gone missing." Sherlock said ruffling his hair and sighing.

Athena squinted as her eyes opened, she felt dizzy and horribly nauseous. Perhaps she had drank too much wine earlier and blacked out from it. Her head felt like it was spinning and there was a terrible pain in her back, she looked around and saw a small fire and two other figures sitting in chairs and three standing. Her vision finally focused and she recognized John and a female tied down opposite of him. A woman was talking but she couldn't focus enough to cipher what she was saying. Something about a card with a name, and a check with the same. Athena groaned as her hearing slowly came back.

"Tickets collected by you in the name of Holmes." The Chinese woman said to John," I realize what this seems like but it's not" John muttered. The pain in her back became more apparent as she realized a man was standing behind her chair with a knife against her back. The woman raised a gun to Johns face as he muttered something under his breath.

"You've got the w-wrong man, he is Dr. John Watson. If you d-don't release us at this instant I can guarantee you that the crown and Interpool will find you and g-gut you for hurting any of us." Athena said to distract the woman. "How clever for Mr. Holmes' partner to defend him. They have not caught us, and they will not because we have protection. Shut her up." The woman ordered as the man slowly pushed the tip of the knife into her back. 

"Silence will bring less pain, talking will only hurt you." the man mumbled as Athena screamed, feeling the hot blood trickle down her back. She could still move her toes, he didn't penetrate the spinal cord. Athena tried to listen to the voices but even now, it was worse than before the voices started to blend together until she heard the gunshot and the bullet ricocheting throughout the tunnel, frantically she squirmed to loosen her bonds but was stopped by the bullet. Athena screamed from the bullet entering her thigh. "You fool! " the lady shouted as she ran through the tunnel. 

"Dammit Sherlock hurry up!" Athena bit her lip as tears rolled down her cheek, she looked down at her now blood soaked dress, and took in deep breaths to try and mask the pain and began to tune out the commotion that was happening before her. Her brows knitted together as she concentrated on the now two bleeding areas of her body. Her back was not bleeding as profusely as before, it wouldn't need stitches. But the bullet wound may need a few, she flexed her thigh and winced when she felt it, the bullet was still in her thigh and had not exited, yet it hadn't shattered the femur. Good. It would probably heal in a few weeks, no damage to nerves that she could feel. 

"So this is like Athena's Mind Palace or is she in shock?." John knelt in front of Athena and pressed his fingers against her wrist to check her pulse and continued to check her vital signs. "It's not quite a Mind Palace, Buddhists often induce meditations where they can almost numb the pain they are experiencing, although I've never seen a meditation this powerful by someone young. Ultimately, Athena needs stimulation to bring herself back into reality, a quick jab should suffice." Sherlock quickly jabbed a finger into the back of her neck, Athena's eyes flew open as she started to grunt in pain. "You boys will be the death of me." Athena gritted through her teeth as the two men helped her to her feet, Athena groaning from pain as she used the men as crutches.

Athena sat wincing on the edge of the bathtub as she rinsed the wound off, John and Sherlock had helped her into the bathroom and John removed the bullet from her thigh but was promptly kicked out of the flat shortly after. She limped to the cabinet to retrieve a vial of morphine and a syringe but as she had started walking to the living room her foot slipped on one of her experiments, and was caught by two arms.

"For being a clever girl, you are very clumsy darling." An Irish drawl said as she was lifted and sat on the edge of her bed. Athena's eye grew large and she stiffened as she looked into his dark brown eyes. "I know our last little encounter was a bit, brutish and vile. But I was very excited after being so bored for so long, I hope I didn't give you a wrong depiction of me." He picked up the bandage and slowly wrapped it around Athena's thigh, carefully tying it on the top. "Darling I know you are scared, but I am just like you. I get bored, I look for something or someone that isn't a complete moron and I obsess." he sighed as he extracted the morphine from the vial.

"What were you looking for here, just wanted a cup of tea and a chat?" Athena asked as she watched his every move. "For a lovely girl, you have a smart mouth." Athena hissed as the needle pierced through her forearm's skin " Jim the absolute only reason why you are still here is because of the morphine." Moriarty laughed as he watched the girl close her eyes and smile, she took in a few deep breaths and rubbed her eyes.  
"I have a deal of sorts, if you wish to hear it." Moriarty stood and cleaned the needle with an alcohol pad, extracting more of the drug into the syringe. Athena sighed as she looked at him, "The morphine is telling me to listen, but my brain says to shoot you with the pistol in my nightstand." He smirked as he took off his jacket and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows and sat next to her.

"The deal, I stop my men from dropping more bodies, I have someone place evidence leading to a disgusting child molester, and they will be punished for the crimes. In return, I would like for you to be at my service." He pushed the needle into his forearm and smiled, "What kind of service are we going to trade for? One using my remedies and poisons?"Athena rubbed at the injection site on her arm, "No, it would be one of a more personal taste. I think having companionships with someone is rather dull and boring, but having someone to be there when I wanted and both of us would benefit from the deal." His Irish drawl started to enunciate each word slowly, and slur as he looked over at Athena.

"No more dead prostitutes and terrifying pictures from my childhood for sex? The morphine and estrogen say yes." Athena laughed as she looked over to him, his dark chocolate eyes were half lidded as he moved closer to her. Athena's breath hitched as she felt his lips crash against hers, Athena pulled away and thought of Mycroft and Sherlock's disapproval of this deal. They certainly would not forgive her, to hell with Sherlock, Athena pulled herself flush against him, persuading his mouth open and for their tongues to wrap and explore each others mouths. He slid his hands under her shirt and began to caress her back, unclasping her bra as she left a trail of kisses down his jawline and to his neck with her fingers knotting themselves into his dark hair. A moan escaped from his lips as she nipped and sucked along the strong base of his neck, unbuttoning the white dress shirt and tossing it to the end of the bed. He slipped her shirt over her head and returned the favor of kissing down her neck and to her collarbone, his warm and wet lips found themselves tracing over them and down between her breasts. Athena moaned at the feeling of their bare warm skin pressing against each other, his hands rested on her bare hip as they began to rock into each other, moaning at the waves of pleasure radiating through their bodies. He pulled Athena over to straddle his waist, only to earn wincing from Athena as she clutched her thigh.

He carefully laid her back down and gave her another kiss, "Patience darling, we will continue this when your leg is better. Think of it as something to look forward too." Athena sighed and reached for the morphine, injecting a few more cc's into her arm as she watched Interpol's most wanted criminal pour himself a drink and sit in front of the fireplace. "Jim, why not indulge in a relationship? Being able to have this sensation very day would be a dream." The euphoria Athena felt was incredible, the high of the morphine and the excitement from foreplay lingered in her body.  
He raised the glass to his lips and drank the contents, "In past experience they do they turn out how they are supposed to. it's also why I do not believe in having friends of any sort." 

Athena sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, "I don't believe you do not have a single friend, what about an apprentice or a a mentor?" Jim sighed and released the gas for the fireplace and threw a match in," I had one, she was very intelligent, manipulative, and she was almost as astounding as I am. She used her sex appeal as a way to crack men and women, once they were broken she would reveal a secret she knew about them and use it to blackmail them. But she went to far, I released her but she soon got in trouble so I had made a deal with her. She would use her particular set of skills for manipulating men or woman to aid me with clients and she would be protected from certain individuals. I don't expect for you to understand darling, I've been alive for twice as long as you." Jim straightened his Westwood suit and began to walk out of the bedroom, "There's a lot that will be happening in the next month or two, I would make sure you properly heal and get plenty of rest." The soft tapping of his footsteps echoed through the flat, the morphine now was truly kicking in, Athena laughed softly to herself as she laid back down and fell asleep.


End file.
